NYC Ballet's 'Midsummer Night's Dream' on Sunday, June 7th

SUNDAY MATINEE, JUNE 7, 3 PM (Guest Conductor: Capps Paroni)
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM:
 TITANIA: *Miriam Miller+
OBERON: *Anthony Huxley
PUCK: Antonio Carmena
HIPPOLYTA: Georgina Pazcoguin
THESEUS: Joshua Thew
TITANIA’S CAVALIER: Ask la Cour (replaces Russell Janzen)
HELENA: Faye Arthurs
DEMETRIUS: Amar Ramasar
HERMIA: Sterling Hyltin
LYSANDER: Jared Angle
BUTTERFLY: Kristin Segin
BOTTOM: *Cameron Dieck
DIVERTISSEMENT: Ashley Bouder and Adrian Danchig-Waring
 * First Time in Role   Apprentice +

George Balanchine created 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in 1962 using the incidental music that Felix Mendelssohn wrote for Shakespeare's play plus his overtures to Athalie, The Fair Melusine, The First Walpurgis Night, and Son and Stranger, and Symphony #9 for Strings.   Balanchine stitched these Mendelssohn pieces into a two-act score with the help of the Company's first music director, Leon Barzin.  It was Mr. B's first completely original evening-length ballet.

Children from The School of American Ballet as bugs in Balanchine's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'.  
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Balanchine knew the Shakespeare play well, since he had performed in it as an insect when he was a child.  Virtually the play's entire plot is covered in Act I, leaving the celebration of the triple wedding of the Theseus and Hippolyta, Helena and Demetrius, and Hermia and Lysander and the attendant divertissement (which replaces the rude mechanical's 'Pyramus and Thisbe' as entertainment for the wedding) for Act II.  A brief epilogue then returns to the fairy kingdom in the forest for the reconciliation of Titania and Oberon.

The original 1962 cast was a starry affair with Melissa Hayden as Titania and Conrad Ludlow as her Cavalier; Edward Villella as Oberon, Arthur Mitchell as Puck and Suki Schorer as the Lead Butterfly; Jillana, Patricia McBride, Roland Vazquez and Nicholas Magallanes played the mortal lovers, Bill Carter played Bottom, Francisco Moncion was Theseus and Gloria Govrin was Hippolyta, and Violette Verdy lead the divertissement.

Sunday's debuts:  Anthony Huxley as Oberon; Miriam Miller as Titania; Cameron Dieck as Bottom.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Sunday afternoon's matinee featured debuts in three roles in the final performance of the Company's Spring season. Soloist Anthony Huxley made a superb debut as Oberon, dancing with wonderful elevation and elegantly articulated beats.  His series of grand jetes a la seconde across the stage were spectacular.  This role requires no partnering, so it is ideal for Mr. Huxley, who is not a strong partner.  He only needs to make his mime passages more forceful to truly own this role.

Miriam Miller, a company apprentice, made her debut as Titania, queen of the fairies.  She is tall and slender with lovely tapered limbs and gorgeous feet.  Her pas de deux with Ask la Cour (a last minute replacement) as her Cavalier showcased her long lines and extravagant extensions.  Still, her dancing was conventional and lacked musical allure.  Her mime passages were too demure, needing more imperiousness.  

In their confrontations over the changeling boy, both Ms. Miller and Mr. Huxley need to convey Shakespeare's line for Oberon:  'Ill-met by moonlight, proud Titania' and elements of Shakespeare's following scene which itemizes the reasons for their dispute and its effect upon the world around them.  This is no mere domestic spat, but a colossal battle of wills between the fairy monarchs which has affected the whole planet.  Balanchine has reduced it to a few key gestures which must be delivered with assurance and passion.

Children from The School of American Ballet play insects who weave their way through the scenes set in the fairy realm.  They are adorable and beautifully trained by the Children's Ballet Masters, Dena Abergel and Arch Higgins.

Ms. Miller's love-struck pas de deux with Cameron Dieck -- making his debut as Bottom -- was fine and confident.  Mr. Dieck dancing inside the head of an ass conveyed the comedy of the situation -- Titania pursues Bottom (as an ass) while Bottom (as an ass) pursues food -- all while performing a complex pas de deux.  This scene is pure Balanchine magic.

Balanchine gives the four mortals in the 'love quadrangle' -- here Faye Arthurs (Helena), Sterling Hyltin (Hermia), Jared Angle (Lysander), and Amar Ramasar (Demetrius) -- dance passages of comedy, conflict and confusion that move the plot forward.  Ms. Arthurs and Mr. Ramasar are most effective in displaying their emotions through dance.  Ms. Hyltin and Mr. Angle are more reserved.

Faye Arthurs as Helena with Sean Suozzi as Puck in Balanchine's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Antonio Carmena plays Puck as an efficient enabler for Oberon's plan to humiliate Titania which also wreaks havoc on the mortal lovers.  

Ashley Bouder and Adrian Danchig-Waring lead the Act II divertissement with calm assurance.  Mr. Danchig-Waring provided strong, devoted partnering to Ms. Bouder, who danced elegantly and avoided her look-at-me mannerisms.  Their pas de deux of idealized love is Balanchine's response to the messy and imperfect love of the mortal lovers and the fairy monarchs in Act I.

While 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' has long been a favorite ballet of ours, this Sunday matinee performance lacked the magic that can make this work a captivating and exhilarating experience.  The music from the orchestra lead by Maestro Stuart Capps was muffled and pedestrian.  The cast often seemed to be on autopilot and except for the three debuts they were more efficient than involved.  



  

School of American Ballet Workshop Performances on May 30th

We attended both the matinee and evening performances of the School of American Ballet's 2015 Workshops on Saturday, May 30th.  I also attended the final dress rehearsal on Friday afternoon when the cast for the Tuesday evening gala performance danced.  These performances are always a highlight of our ballet calendar (as they are for many other New York City ballet lovers).  

The Peter Jay Sharp Theater in the Julliard School provides a comfortable venue for the SAB workshop every year.  It seats nearly 1,000 people and has wonderful sightlines for ballet from most seats.  We always sit in the same seats -- seats I refer to as the 'Miriam Pellman memorial seats' since we sort of inherited them after Miriam passed away.

I wrote about the program for this year's Workshops in my post of March 16th which you can read here:

http://zylopho.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-program-for-2015-sab-workshops.html 

What I did not realize when I published that post was that the 2015 Workshop Performances would be celebrating the 20th year of Rudolf Nureyev Scholarships for young male dancers at SAB.  Hence, the emphasis on male dancers in this program -- where they outnumbered the young women for the first time in the 51 year history of the Workshops.

While these (mostly positive) remarks concentrate on the execution of this program, the 'dance recital' format of the first half makes it nearly impossible to completely ignore the flaws (there's nowhere else to look when there are so few dancers on stage).  My apologies for any negative remarks to the students and faculty members who have worked hard over the last several months to perfect these performances.

'Harlequinade':
Thirty-two students, ages 9 to 14, perform as Polichinelles, Harlequins, Pierrettes and Pierrots, and Scaramouches -- all stock characters from Italian commedia dell'arte

Music by Riccard Drigo, choreography by George Balanchine
Staged by Dena Abergel and Arch Higgins 

Balanchine was well-known for choreographing dances for children that challenged their capabilities while still recognizing their limitations.  Ms. Abergel and Mr. Higgins have prepared these adorable young students beautifully and they were warmly received by an audience that included many adoring parents, siblings and other family members.  

The only gaffe came from Andrews Sill, the conductor, who failed to cue the students for their final bows at the matinee -- leaving them stranded in the spotlight and unsure just how to proceed.  Fortunately, there were enough youthful leaders in the group to prevent total chaos -- and by the evening performance Maestro Sill remembered that his duties on this piece don't end with the last note from the orchestra.

'William Tell' Pas de Deux:
Alston Macgill & Christopher Grant (Saturday matinee & Friday dress rehearsal)

Larisa Nugent & Kennard Henson (Saturday evening)

Music by Giacomo Rossini and choreography by August Bournonville
Staged by Darci Kistler

Alston Macgill (17, Savannah, GA) is something of protoge of Darci Kistler -- who coached her in Balanchine's 'Swan Lake' for the 2014 Workshops as well as in this work.  Ms. Macgill and Christopher Grant (19, New York, NY) are somewhat mismatched for this work.  Christopher -- who won a Wien award in 2014 -- is an ebullient and out-going performer who lights up in front of an audience, while Alston is more reserved and reticent as a performer.  They executed the steps of the difficult Bournonville choreography beautifully, but their respective efforts to modulate their inherent performing personalities undermined their efforts to convey the flirtatious courtship at its heart to the audience.

Christopher Grant and Alston Macgill in the pas de deux from Bournonville's 'William Tell'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for The School of American Ballet

Larisa Nugent (16, Ellicott City, MD) and Kennard Henson (17, Baltimore, MD) were better matched in the evening.  Larisa has a flirtatious sparkle that played off Kennard's inherent courtliness.  Their choreographed courtship was delightful and brought out the meaning of Bournonville's steps while making their difficulty look effortless.

'The Sleeping Beauty' Wedding Pas de Deux:
Clara Ruf-Maldonado* & Dammiel Cruz* (Saturday matinee & Friday dress rehearsal)

Sasohan Huttenbach & Alec Knight (Saturday evening)

Music by Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky and choreography by Peter Martins after Marius Petipa
Staged by Yvonne Borree* and Jonathan Stafford

*  Recipients of 2015 Mae L. Wien Awards

This pas de deux is a minefield of difficult adagio partnering and bravura solo passages -- not for the faint of heart.  Clara Ruf-Maldonado (18, New York, NY) and Dammiel Cruz (17, Woodhaven, NY) have both studied at the School since they were children and are among the finest dancers in this year's Workshop (witness their 2015 Wien Awards).  Ms. Ruf-Maldonado dances Princess Aurora with grave authority and natural radiance.  Mr. Cruz is strong and confident as Prince Desire.  They have tendency to clench up for the difficult partnered moves and then show (too much) relief after they are completed.  Clara stumbled slightly on the pirouette at the end of her long menage of chaine turns and jetes (at the same spot at both the dress rehearsal and matinee performance) and one of their fish dives went awry at the matinee -- but they recovered quickly and went on to beautifully danced solos in the coda.  Overall their performances were tremendously exciting.

Dammiel Cruz and Clara Ruf-Maldonado rehearsing 'The Sleeping Beauty' pas de deux.
Photo by Rosalie O'Connor for The School of American Ballet

Sasonah Huttenbach (17, Brooklyn, NY) and Alec Knight (19, Brisbane, Australia) displayed a different stage presence in the evening.  They are both tall and slender and they make this pas de deux seem light and celebratory.  Mr. Knight expresses his love for his bride through his joy in dancing.  Ms. Huttenbach shows a bit too much tension in the most difficult passages, but is lovely elsewhere and assured in her solo passages.  Sasonah and Alec struggled through the treacherous fish dives, but they displayed great rapport with each other and a shared determination to recover and move on to their radiant coda.
 

Alec Knight and Sasonah Huttenbach rehearsing 'The Sleeping Beauty' pas de deux with Yvonne Borree.
Photo by Rosalie O'Connor for The School of American Ballet

It's obvious that Ms. Borree and Mr. Stafford had prepared these dancers with great care.  Both student couples presented themselves beautifully and proved they could rise from small mishaps to prevail with dignity and grace.

Valse Fantaisie:
Emma Von Enck & Ethan Fuller with Misses Kaitlyn Casey, Audrey Lawrence, Lucy Nevin & Gianna Reisen (Saturday matinee & Friday dress rehearsal)

Leah Christianson & Thomas Davidoff with Misses Constance Doyle, Rachel Hutsell, Courtney Nitting & Samantha Riester (Saturday evening)

Music by Mikhail Glinka, Choreography by George Balanchine
Staged by Suki Schorer

'Valse Fantaisie' is one of those short, 'huffy' ballets that tests the stamina of all six dancers even though it is only a little over eight minutes long.  All of these dancers proved to have both the energy, the technical dexterity and the musicality for this exhilarating work.

Selected and coached by Suki Schorer, both casts are exceptionally strong.  Emma Von Enck (17, Brecksville, OH), partnered by Ethan Fuller (17, Indialantic, FL) at the matinee, is an exquisite ballerina -- obviously with a core of steel.  Her slowly rotating pirouettes with beautifully articulated arms and deeply arched back are a treasured after-image and her perfectly executed menage of bourrees and jetes done at lightning speed with supreme musicality was a highlight of the afternoon.  Mr. Fuller has wonderfully articulated beats and high, airy jumps.  Their partnered passages were short, but lovely.

Emma Von Enck and Ethan Fuller rehearsing Balanchine's 'Valse Fantasie'.
Photo by Rosalie O'Connor for The School of American Ballet

The evening performance lead by Leah Christianson (18, Batavia, IL) and Thomas Davidoff (16, Marietta, GA) was only slightly less spectacular -- marred by a slight bobble on a supported pirouette done at breakneck speed.  Mr. Davidoff has wonderful elevation and Ms. Christianson dances with great energy.  The four corps ladies of both casts danced with precision and musical acuity in some of Balanchine's trickiest and most exposed choreography.  Suki Schorer must be extremely proud of the work of all twelve students in this demanding work.

'Stars and Stripes', Third Regiment-Thunder and Gladiator:
Aaron Hilton with Messrs. Sam Ainley, Darius Black, Gilbert Bolden III, Josiah Cook, Christopher D'Ariano, Dallas Finley, Alec Knight, Marc LaPierre, Wilson Livingston, Marc LaPierre, Wilson Livingston, Luke Potgieter, Xhosa Scott & Saxon Wood (Saturday matinee & Friday dress rehearsal) 

Xhosa Scott with Messrs. Ainley, Black, Bolden, Nathan Compiano, Cook, D'Ariano, Finley, Hilton, Livingston, Alexandros Pappajohn, Potgieter & Wood (Saturday evening)

Music by John Philip Sousa adapted & arranged by Hershy Kay, choreography by George Balanchine
Staged by Jock Soto

I worried in March that this excerpt from Balanchine's patriotic John Philip Souza ballet would not have the military precision that it should and in part that proved true.  Lines were sometimes slightly askew and air turn landings wandered from the formation.  Jock Soto wisely dropped the white gloves, which would have accentuated these issues.  Overall, though, this work provided a wonderful showcase some for some of the talented young men who are current beneficiaries of the Nureyev scholarships.

Josiah Cook and Christopher D'Andrea rehearsing for Balanchine's 'Stars and Stripes'.
Photo by Rosalie O'Connor for The School of American Ballet

Aaron Hilton (18, Washington, DC) was exemplary as the regimental leader at the matinee -- dancing with elevation and elan.  His slightly wandering pirouettes a la second were cleverly disguised (by Balanchine) amidst a circle of the surrounding troops executing a menage of rotating jetes -- to deserved applause from the audience. 

Aaron Hilton with Messrs. Saxon, Scott, D'Ariano, Pappajohn, Bolden and Potgieter.
Photo by Rosalie O'Connor for The School of American Ballet

Xhosa Scott (16, Baltimore, MD) -- performing the leader in the evening performance -- is an extraordinary jumper. Lithe and wiry, he executes jetes, beats and air turns with enormous elevation and seeming nonchalance.  

I must also express delight with Darius Black (16, Voorhees, NJ) anchoring the back left corner of the formation at both the matinee and evening performances with great solemnity and concentration as he performed the final phrases of a canon that has swept diagonally across the regiment from right to left -- alone.

Fanfare:
Thirty-four students portraying instruments of the orchestra -- a total of at least 50 students performed in the Saturday matinee and evening performances and the Friday dress rehearsal

Music by Benjamin Britten based on a theme by Henry Purcell, choreography by Jerome Robbins
Staged by Susan Pilarre and Christine Redpath

'Fanfare' is the 'go out there and have fun' ballet of this program.  Susan Pilarre is well-known for staging these pieces for each Workshop program and Christine Redpath is a highly regarded ballet master for the Robbins repertory at NYC Ballet.  It's possible in this work to single out special performances while enjoying the entire group for their energy and enthusiasm.

One of the best performances on Saturday came from Joscelyn Dolson (19, Superior Township, MI, also a 2015 Mae L. Wien award recipient) as the Harp at the matinee.  Ms. Dolson dances with an inner radiance and outward calm.  Her performance seems to say 'I'm dancing for myself, but it's all right if you want to watch'.  I'd love to see her take on the Violette Verdi role in 'Emeralds' some day.  That luminous introspective quality is seldom achieved these days.

Joscelyn Dolson as the Harp in Jerome Robbins' "Fanfare'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for The School of American Ballet

Darius Black and Xhosa Scott were excellent as the 'Alphonse and Gaston' of Bassoons.  Their deadpan -- but with a twinkle in their eyes --routine brought a chuckle at each performance.  Eric Beckham (19, Columbia, SC) and Thomas Davidoff as the dueling Trumpets in both Saturday performances also brought a laugh.  On the other hand the 3-man Percussion section -- often the high point of hilarity in 'Fanfare' -- seemed a bit tired.  Alicia Holloway (18, Morgantown, WV) was an effectively morose Oboe in the evening and Christopher D'Ariano (17, New York, NY) was the shamelessly self-important Double Bass at both performances on Saturday.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Bravo to all of the students and faculty members of the School of American Ballet who have worked tirelessly to prepare and perfect this 2015 Workshop program.  Watching these performances over the years we often tend to forget that these are ballet students, not (yet) professional dancers.  We wish them all great success as they pursue the next challenges of their lives -- whether it's further training at SAB, going on to dance on the ballet stages of the world, or trying completely different endeavors.    

A Couple of Ballet Quibbles and Bits . . .

SAB Names Three Students as Wien Award Winners:

The School of American Ballet has announced the student winners of its 2015 Mae L. Wien Awards for Outstanding Promise:  Clara Ruf-Maldonado, Joscelyn Dolson, and Dammiel Cruz.  They will all be dancing important roles in the School's workshop performances on Saturday, May 30th, and Tuesday, June 2nd.  The Wien Awards are presented at the Tuesday evening Workshop Gala.

Clara is an 18-year-old New Yorker.  She started at the School in 2004.  She is scheduled to dance the wedding pas de deux from 'Sleeping Beauty' with Dammiel at the Saturday matinee and the Tuesday evening performances of the Workshop.

Joscelyn is 19 years old and comes from Superior Township, Michigan.  Ms. Dolson first came to SAB for the Summer Sessions in 2009 and 2010.  She returned in September 2010 for the Winter Term.  She is scheduled to dance the 'Harp' in Jerome Robbins' 'Fanfare' at the Saturday afternoon and Tuesday evening Workshop performances.  Joscelyn is one of three students featured in the SAB Winter Ball video which was featured in my April 6th 'Quibbles and Bits' here:
http://zylopho.blogspot.com/2015/04/even-more-ballet-quibbles-and-bits.html 

Dammiel is 17 years old and comes from Woodhaven, NY.  He joined the School's Boys Program in 2005 and proceeded through the Intermediate and Advanced Men's levels.  In addition to the 'Sleeping Beauty' pas de deux, he is expected to dance the 'Viola' pas de deux in 'Fanfare' at the Saturday matinee and Tuesday evening performances.  He danced a featured role in Balanchine's 'Serenade' at the 2014 Workshop performances which were also shown last December on PBS 'Live from Lincoln Center'.  See my comments here:
http://zylopho.blogspot.com/2014/06/school-of-american-ballet-workshop.html
and here:
http://zylopho.blogspot.com/2014/12/sab-on-live-from-lincoln-center.html

Congratulations to all three students on this much deserved recognition.

Teen Vogue Airs Strictly Ballet, Season 2:

The the first four episodes of the second season of Teen Vogue's 'Strictly Ballet' are now available here:

http://video.teenvogue.com/series/strictly-ballet

The second season features students at the Miami City Ballet School and will eventually have 23 episodes. It features six students aged 14 through 21, several from Latin America -- 2 from Brazil and one from Cuba I believe.  Two of the students are already apprentices with Miami City Ballet. 

Five of the six Miami City Ballet School students featured in the second season of 'Strictly Ballet'
Photo by Henry Leutwyler for Teen Vogue

For those who haven't seen the first season, which featured five students from the School of American Ballet, those 19 episodes are available on the same webpage.  As we approach the School's Workshop performances this weekend and next week, it's interesting to go back behind the scenes with students at America's premier dance academy.

NYC Ballet Matinee Performance, Sunday, May 10th

SUNDAY MATINEE, MAY 10, 3:00 PM [Conductor: Sill]

WALPURGISNACHT BALLET: Mearns, la Cour, *Maxwell, Segin, Dronova

pause

SONATINE: *T. Peck, De Luz [Solo Piano: Chelton] 

LA VALSE: Hyltin, J. Angle, Ramasar, Ippolito, King, Carmena, Pazcoguin, Suozzi, LeCrone (replacing Arthurs), Catazaro, Smith, Wellington, Anderson

SYMPHONY IN C: Bouder, Veyette, Kowroski, T. Angle, Pereira, Carmena (replacing Garcia), Pollack, Stanley

* First Time in Role on Friday, May 8th

The New York City Ballet program we saw on Sunday, May 10th (Mothers' Day) was subtitled 'Hear the Dance: France' -- and consisted of four Balanchine works using the music of French composers.

Walpurgisnacht Ballet
I wrote about 'Walpurgisnacht Ballet' in a post on a NYC Ballet performance on 3/1/2014 which you can read here:

http://zylopho.blogspot.com/2014/03/balanchines-walpurgisnacht-ballet.html

Last Sunday's cast was lead by 'the divine Sara' as my late friend Miriam Pellman dubbed Sara Mearns (without irony).  She continues to dance this role with extraordinary radiance and musical expressiveness.  Her partner, Ask la Cour, was a calm steady presence in a role that requires little more.  The orchestra under the direction of Andrews Sill, the interim music director, gave the dancers a nuanced reading of the scintillating Gounod music.  

Sara Mearns and Ask la Cour in 'Walpurgisnacht Ballet'.  Photo by Andrea Mohin for the NY Times

Alexa Maxwell, stepping out of the corps in an auspicious debut, was confident and elegant as the secondary ballerina.  She had just made her debut in the role two days earlier.  In most of her dancing she fronts the all-female ensemble and even when she is performing the same steps as they are Ms. Maxwell is able by the slightest lingering at the end of a phrase or the mere tilt of her head to distinguish herself from her peers.

Alexa Maxwell in 'Walpurgisnacht Ballet'.  Photo by Andrea Mohin for the NY Times

As viewed from seats in the third ring the choreographic patterns, even in the often chaotic bacchanale that concludes 'Walpurgisnacht', were clearly defined.  Seeing a ballet from a different perspective often creates a new experience of familiar choreography and that was the case on Sunday.

Sonatine
'Sonatine' was the opening work of the Ravel Festival in May, 1975.  Balanchine created 'Sonatine' for two French dancers -- Violette Verdy and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux -- using Maurice Ravel's piano piece of that name from 1906.  The piano is placed stage right leaving the left two-thirds of the stage for the two dancers.  The sensuous, atmospheric three movement work was beautifully played by Elaine Chelton on Sunday afternoon.

Tiler Peck and Joaquin De Luz in 'Sonatine'.  Photo by Andrea Mohin for NYTimes

Individually, Tiler Peck and Joaquin De Luz are wonderful, dancing their scintillating, shimmering solos with complete musicality.  Joaquin's precise beats and centered spins look effortless.  Tiler's delicate pointe work and spiraling pirouettes capture the essence of this music.  Unfortunately, their different physical scale makes some of the partnered passages of 'Sonatine' look uncomfortably awkward.  A series of skimming underarm lifts looked difficult and ungainly where they should have made Tiler look like she's floating on air.

The result was a small, chamber work that seemed long and often tedious.  Perhaps by the time it reappears during the 2016 Winter Season, these wonderful dancers can be paired with others who are more compatible in scale.

La Valse
George Balanchine created 'La Valse' in 1951 using Ravel's 'Valses Nobles et Sentimentales' -- a set of eight short waltzes written for piano in 1911 and orchestrated in 1912 -- plus his 'La Valse' written in 1920.  Ravel wrote about 'La Valse':  "We are dancing on the edge of a volcano".  Balanchine's original cast was Tanaquil Le Clercq, Nicholas Magallanes, and Francisco Moncion with costumes by Karinska and sets by Jean Rosenthal.

Karinska's costumes for the demi-soloist and corps women are an integral part of the choreography.  The ladies long tulle skirts layered in shades of scarlet, orange, lavender and pink under a top layer of black or dark grey are surmounted by tight bodices of gunmetal satin with nude yokes trimmed in jeweled 'necklaces'.   They all wear very long white gloves.

After a brief overture (First Waltz) the curtain opens on three women -- often called the 'three fates' -- Marika Anderson, Gretchen Smith and Lydia Wellington.  To the Second Waltz they gesture primarily with angular arms and hands -- perhaps gossiping or preening or plotting.  It is here that the motif of raising the skirts to reveal the fiery underlayers is set -- perhaps the flames of hell licking at them or Ravel's volcano spewing molten lava.  It is all very unsettling, emphasized by the white gloves and layers of flaming tulle.

The 'three fates' in Karinska's costumes for Balanchine's 'La Valse'.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Three couples are introduced -- Lauren King and Antonio Carmena in the Third Waltz; Georgina Pazcoguin and Sean Suozzi in the Fourth Waltz; and Megan LeCrone and Zachary Catazaro in the Fifth Waltz.  Ms. LeCrone dances the Sixth Waltz.  Mr. Catazaro and the three fates dance the Seventh Waltz which could be the man's fever dream or the three fates singling him out for special torment.  The women circle him in grand jetes and blind him with their gloved arms.  The other couples rush on and off stage.  It ends in another flash of tulle fireworks.

Lauren King and Antonio Carmena dancing the Third Waltz of 'La Valse'.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

All in white Sterling Hyltin enters alone at the start of the Eighth Waltz.  She is soon joined by Jared Angle.  They waltz.  She retreats several times, but is drawn back to the dance.  As the waltz ends a man's face appears behind the black scrim -- inscrutable, sinister -- he is Death.

As the first strains of 'La Valse' are heard the three fates reappear briefly, then the three couples and the corps of 16 women and eight men who gradually come together into a formal waltz -- always with flashes of crimson tulle licking around them like flames.  The girl in white and her partner enter and join the waltz.  Sterling and Jared execute a dazzling series of waltz lifts and supported pirouettes where her free leg describes a 360 degree arc as her head and body pass under her partner's arm. 

Sterling Hyltin & Jared Angle (center) in Balanchine's 'La Valse'.  Photo by Andrea Mohin for NY Times

Death (Amar Ramasar) -- and his servant (Ralph Ippolito) enter from the rear of the stage, dressed all in black.  The waltzers have stopped, transfixed.  Death lures the girl in white to his side -- offering her a necklace of jet stones.  His servant proffers a cracked mirror so she can see the black gems circling her slender white neck.  Death helps her plunge her arms into long black gloves and don a black tulle overdress.  She preens in her new finery.  He presents her with a bouquet of black flowers. Finally realizing that she has been seduced by Death, she tries to break free, but Death grips her in a frenzied, terrifying waltz, then flings her violently to the floor and departs.  Her partner drags her body to the back of the stage while the corps swirls on in the waltz.

In the final moments the three demi-soloist men lift the girl's body high while the rest of the cast circles in a macabre flaming vortex and her partner runs around the edges of the stage in anguish.
       

Final image of 'La Valse' with corps surrounding the girl in white.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

'La Valse' is a gorgeous ballet and it was beautifully performed at this performance.  Still, it seemed a rather dark choice for a Mothers' Day program.

Symphony in C
Stravinsky first recommended Bizet's 'Symphony in C' to Balanchine.  Bizet composed the score in 1855 at the age of 17 when he was a student of Charles Gounod at the Paris Conservatory.  It lay unperformed in the Conservatory's archives until 1933.  It's first public performance was in Paris in 1935. 

Balanchine choreographed 'Symphony in C' in just two weeks in 1947 for the Paris Opera Ballet where it was called 'Le Palais de Cristal'.  In Paris, the costumes and decor by Leonor Fini were in different colors representing jewels -- emeralds, rubies, sapphires and pearls -- for each movement.  (Balanchine, of course, returned to the jewel theme in 1967 for 'Jewels'.)  The Paris Opera Ballet brought this version to New York for their 1986 engagement at the Met.  Of course, Balanchine was right to jettison the jewel theme for this work.

For the first performance of Ballet Society (the predecessor of New York City Ballet) at City Center in March, 1948, Balanchine changed the name to 'Symphony in C' and revised the choreography to reflect the strengths of his New York cast.  Karinska redressed the ballet in simple white tutus with simple satin bows for the women and black leotards for the men -- shown off against a simple blue cyclorama.

In 2012, Marc Happel created new costumes for the Company using masses of Swarovski crystals but retaining the basic black and white format.  Here's a link to the video about the new costumes on the Company's web page:

http://www.nycballet.com/ballets/s/symphony-in-c.aspx

Ashley Bouder and Andrew Veyette were crisp and musically incisive in the First Movement: Allegro Vivo.  There is always a nice spark of energy when Ashley and Andrew dance together and it was evident in this vibrant performance.

Maria Kowroski and Tyler Angle seemed a little tired and distracted in the Second Movement: Adagio.  Maria omitted the iconic forehead-to-knee in her 180-degree supported arabesque penchee and Tyler seemed slightly underpowered -- barely taking Maria from one demi-soloist couple to the other in the arabesque lifts back-and-forth across the stage.  It was an atypically dull performance from two incredibly talented dancers who have formed a wonderful partnership in the last few years.

Maria Kowroski and Tyler Angle in the Adagio of Balanchine's 'Symphony in C'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Erica Pereira and Antonio Carmena (replacing Gonzalo Garcia) were poorly matched in the Third Movement: Allegro Vivace.  Pereira uses a veneer of vivacity to cover a basically bland technical facility.  Carmena is a ball of energy who seemed to rein in his dancing to match the small scale of his ballerina's.  This is such a vivid, fun movement, filled with bouncy plies, square-dance promenades and menages -- but it needs a central couple that can bring variety and interest to its several repetitive passages.

Lauren King and Taylor Stanley in the Fourth Movement: Allegro Vivace of Balanchine's 'Symphony in C'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Brittany Pollack and Taylor Stanley lead the Fourth Movement: (also) Allegro Vivace.  I always feel the couple leading this movement and their supporting cast get short changed by the need to bring the ballet's entire cast back for a reprise.  Brittany and Taylor were exuberant and sunny in their too-brief time on stage -- and then they ceded the stage to the first movement cast.

As the casts from each movement reenter the stage, it becomes a kind of mash-up and challenge dance, eventually with all 52 dancers on stage.  Can the four ballerinas keep up in the turns and stabbing bourrees?  Can the eight demi-soloists men all hoist their partners onto their shoulders at precisely the same moment and keep them steady there?  Can the conductor keep the orchestra from racing out of control in the final exuberant moments?  Can all 52 dancers hit their marks in the final tableau.  They all did so splendidly at this matinee and the result was a collective roar of approval from the audience. 

Entire cast in final tableau of Balanchine's 'Symphony in C'.  Photo by Paul Kolnik

It was an exhilarating conclusion for the Mothers' Day matinee.

The 2015 Version of 'Far from the Madding Crowd' . . .

Last Monday, we saw the new version of 'Far from the Madding Crowd'.  It is the fourth movie made from Thomas Hardy's 1874 novel, including the 1967 film directed by John Schlesinger and starring Julie Christie.  This movie, using a screenplay by David Nicholls based on the novel and directed by Thomas Vinterberg, stars Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Martin Sheen, and Tom Sturridge.

Poster for 'Far from the Madding Crowd' with Carrie Mulligan and Matthias Schoenaerts dancing.

Miss Mulligan plays Bathsheba Everdeen, a proto-feminist farm owner who struggles to maintain her independence in Victorian England.  Bathsheba is courted by three very different suitors -- Gabriel Oak (Schoenaerts) a sheep farmer; William Boldwood (Sheen) a well-to-do land owner; and Frank Troy (Sturridge) a dashing army sergeant.

Much of the interest of this film comes from its heroine's determination to fight the patriarchal social conventions of the agricultural community of Wessex (the fictional setting of Hardy's novel).  Her personal management of the farm she inherits from her uncle leads to several nearly catastrophic incidents.  Both Oak and Boldwood come to her rescue at various times, while Troy proves to be her nemesis.

Carey Mulligan does a wonderful job of conveying Bathsheba's feistiness and fearlessness while maintaining her dewy beauty.  Matthias Schoenaerts displays a watchful earthy presence and stoic dignity as Gabriel;  Martin Sheen brings a sense of exasperation and wounded pride to the lonely, middle-aged Boldwood; and Tom Sturridge is properly macho and self-centered as Sergeant Troy.

While the movie is very well-acted and beautifully filmed on locations in Dorset and Oxfordshire, the screenplay is episodic and the editing is choppy.  Not all of us have read Thomas Hardy's novel, so the screen writers and editors are wrong in assuming that we'll be able fill in the gaping holes they leave in this movie.

Banner for 'Far from the Madding Crowd' with Carrie Mulligan and Tom Sturridge in the forest.

  

NYC Ballet Matinee Performance, Sunday, May 3rd . . .

SUNDAY MATINEE, MAY 3, 3:00 PM [Conductor: Otranto]

APOLLO: *Danchig-Waring, T. Peck, *Isaacs, Lovette
AGON: Kowroski, Ramasar, Veyette, King, Hod (replaces Smith),Krohn, Alberda, Applebaum
DUO CONCERTANT: Bouder, *Huxley [Solo Piano: McDill; Solo Violin: Delmoni]
SYMPHONY IN 3 MOVEMENTS: Hyltin, Pereira, Lowery, Stanley, Ulbricht, Scorda

* First Time in Role on Wednesday, April 29th

This program from the Balanchine Black & White Festival was subtitled 'Stravinsky/Balanchine'.  It included four works Balanchine created to Stravinsky's music spanning the years from 1928 through 1972 -- all danced in (mostly black and white) leotards.

First, a word about the excellent playing of the New York City Ballet Orchestra under the conductor Clotilde Otranto on Sunday. These Stravinsky scores are this orchestra's birthright.  They have been playing them for many, many years.  Under Maestra Otranto's enthusiastic baton they sounded as fresh and clean as when they were first encountered.

Apollo
When Balanchine created 'Apollo' (aka 'Apollon Musagete') for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in 1928 it featured elaborate costumes and sets by the French painter Andre Bauchant.  A year later there were new costumes by Coco Chanel.  By the time he staged it for NYC Ballet in 1951 he had begun a process of stripping away the sets, the costumes and the scenario.  By the 1957 staging the costumes by Karinska were extremely simple leotards -- with brief skirts for the three women.  When he restaged it for Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1979 Balanchine eliminated the prologue -- which portrayed the birth and infancy of Apollo -- and the spare, steep staircase at the back representing Mount Parnassus -- which Apollo and the three muses climbed in the finale.  (I seem to recall that this version was also used by Rudolf Nureyev on his tour programs starting as early as 1967.)

On Sunday, two of the dancers -- Adrian Danchig-Waring as Apollo and Ashly Isaacs as Polyhymnia -- had just debuted in their roles the previous Wednesday.  Danchig-Waring's Apollo is very much a work in process.  He hasn't created a coherent through-line that pulls the individual dance scenes together to portray the young god's development from adolescence into manhood.  On a technical level he doesn't always place the iconic images correctly on the stage and he doesn't accurately align them in relation to the proscenium and the audience -- usually due to an under or over rotation of a turn.

Adrian Danchig-Waring as Apollo in Balanchine's ballet.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Ashly Isaacs' Polyhymnia, muse of mime, was danced with enormous confidence and brio.  Isaacs is still in the corps, but she is this year's Janice Levin Dancer honoree.  It is clear that she has a brilliant future.  Isaacs filled the stage with big, bold, joyous dancing that plays with and against Stravinsky's music.

Tiler Peck as Terpsichore, Ashly Isaacs as Polyhymnia, Lauren Lovette as Calliope and Adrian Danchig-Waring

as Apollo in Balanchine's 'Apollo'.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Tiler Peck's Terpsichore, muse of dance, seemed bored, petulant and lacked rapport with Danchig-Waring's Apollo.  Lauren Lovette's Calliope is not one of her best role, failing to catch the muse of poetry's sparkle and contorting her beautiful face with ugly grimaces while 'reciting' her poetry.  Perhaps Ms. Peck and Ms. Lovette are letting their off-stage affection for different Apollos (Robert Fairchild and Chase Finlay respectively) distort their performances in this cast.

Final image of the current 'Apollo' with Tiler Peck & Adrian Danchig-Waring.   Note the awkward placement of Adrian's left foot and the lack of turnout in the left leg.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

The final image of the 1979 version of 'Apollo' that Balanchine left us is the sunburst of the sun god with the legs of the three muses arrayed in arabesque around him -- what the late critic Robert Garris referred to as 'the Apollo-logo'.  'Apollo' remains an essential work in the Balanchine cannon and we can only hope that this cast will coalesce in future performances.

Agon

Balanchine commissioned Stravinsky to compose the score for 'Agon', which premiered in 1957.  Stravinsky modelled the individual sections of the score on dances from a mid-17th century French dance manual.  Balanchine uses the first three sections: Pas de Quatre (Four Boys); Double Pas de Quatre (Eight Girls); and Triple Pas de Quatre (Eight Girls, Four Boys) to introduce his dancers.  I'm always amazed and amused by how Balanchine moves the 12 dancers in the triple pas like chess pieces between the three groups of four dancers to form mixed-sex foursomes before aligning them back into the three same-sex foursomes.

The company fielded a perfect cast for Sunday's matinee of 'Agon'.
In the first Pas de Trois, Andrew Veyette (with Lauren King and Ashley Hod) danced with polished athleticism.

Andrew Veyette dancing the 'Sarabande' from Balanchine's 'Agon'.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

 In the second Pas de Trois, Rebecca Krohn (with Devin Alberda and Daniel Applebaum) infused the 'Bransle Gay' with sensuous angularity and handled being thrown from one man to the other with cool aplomb.

Maria Kowroski used her extraordinary extension and flexibility to clearly etch the extremes of the Pas de Deux.  More importantly, she interacted with Amar Ramasar -- making him more than a stalwart and steady partner by acknowledging and reacting to his warmth and charisma.  They are great in this iconic pas de deux.

Amar Ramasar and Maria Kowroski in the 'Agon' pas de deux.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

In Part III the Danse des Quatre Duos (4 twos) morphs into the Danse des Quatre Trois (four threes) and then the four boys repeat the opening steps in reverse in the Coda -- followed by an ovation for a truly extraordinary performance.

Duo Concertant
I'm not really sure why 'Duo Concertant' is so often in the repertory.  It is a piece for a violinist (Arturo Delmoni), a pianist (Nancy McDill), and two dancers (Ashley Bouder and Anthony Huxley) that was created for the 1972 Stravinsky Festival (originally with Kay Mazzo and Peter Martins).  Over the years it has been danced by many great dancers -- Peter Boal, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Nikolaj Hubbe all danced it with Yvonne Borree.

The dancers spend about a third of the piece simply listening to the two musicians play Stravinsky's music -- 'Duo Concertant' from 1934.  Even the greatest dancers have difficulty feigning interest in the music while standing still.  When they do dance it is in snippets -- often with folk dance overtones.  It ends with a maudlin section on a darkened stage where the dancers' hands and heads are caught in a single follow spot as they play out an intensely romantic interlude.

Anthony Huxley and Ashley Bouder in 'Duo Concertant'.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Neither Ashley Bouder nor Anthony Huxley (who debuted in the role the previous Wednesday) are ideally cast in this work -- Bouder is too extroverted, Huxley too introverted.  Neither is a very good listener when they just stand behind the piano.  I'm sure that we will see 'Duo Concertant' again, but I don't need to -- it serves as short (and boring) program filler and in the case of this program it suffers in comparison to the masterpieces around it.

Symphony in Three Movements
Balanchine also created 'Symphony in Three Movements' for the 1972 Stravinsky Festival to the symphony Stravinsky composed between 1942 and 1944.  It uses a large cast -- three principal couples, five demi-soloists couples, and a 16 woman corps.  In the outer two movements they are all deployed in complex patterns that challenge the eye with countervailing rhythms and movements.

The opening line of 16 corps women in 'Symphony in Three Movements'.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

The curtain opens on a diagonal line of the corps women -- all in white leotards with ponytails.  It seems like a neo-classical version of a classical 'vision' scene -- the 'Kingdom of the Shades' from 'La Bayadere' or the second act of 'Giselle' perhaps.  But as soon as they begin to move and as the principals and demi-soloists are introduced you realize that this is an edgy, jagged modern work -- 'Shades' on steroids. 

Taylor Stanley and Sterling Hyltin in the central pas de deux of 'Symphony in Three Movements'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

The central movement is a quiet, slightly exotic pas de deux for one of the principal couples -- on Sunday, Sterling Hyltin and Taylor Stanley.  Hyltin and Stanley seem nicely matched.  Their 'oriental' arm ripples seemed a bit extreme (like some slightly crazed Odettes), but they created an oasis of calm between the frantic energy of the first and third movements.

In the closing moments of the third movement Balanchine clears the stage for the principal and demi-soloist couples by having the corps girls stand half covered behind the wings.  As the momentum builds they step out of the wings and back into them -- creating a dynamic frame for the dancing at center stage.  Suddenly all of the cast is on stage in patterns that reminds me of the crews that guide planes onto the deck of an aircraft carrier.

Full cast in the finale of 'Symphony in Three Movements'.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Sunday's performance of this iconic Balanchine work seemed ragged and under-rehearsed.  Lines that should have been straight weren't; patterns that should have been clearly aligned weren't. This detracted from the complete joy that this work can provide.